With our routines all over the place, stress levels raised for many and more time with our faces glued to our screens, disrupted sleep is affecting more and more people.
Luckily there are some simple techniques you can do to help improve the quality and length of your sleep.
Turn off all screens around 10pm! You can set the apps on your phone to lock themselves at a particular time in your settings. This is a great way to keep you in line. This includes calling people. This is the time you want to be slowing down, not stimulating yourself with conversations and information.
Invest in some Blue Light Glasses. There's so many brands around now, personally I use Baxter Blue and have seen a massive improvement, as have my housemates. I even know a photo editor who wears the all day long now while he stares at a computer screen. Good quality ones don't change the colour of the screen, and they help block the blue light emitted (This light blocks our melatonin production, which is what we need to help us sleep), they reduce eye strain and headaches. I pop mine on around 8pm and leave them on. They're cute too!
Install an automatic blue light blocker on your computer. I use 'f.lux', which dims my screen to an orange hue from 6pm. This is a free download online.
Scents. Scents. Scents! We are sensory beings, so there is external things we can do to help our nervous system slow down. I absolutely love my diffusers and I've got a collection of special sleep time blends of essential oils. It's amazing how quickly you feel more relaxed. My diffuser automatically turns off after a couple hours so I can go to sleep with it on, no worries.
Spend the last 30-60 mins before you doze off, winding down from the day by reading or meditating. Even if you're not a meditator, there are some great YouTube videos or apps for bedtime music, sounds and guided mediations. InSight timer is a great one, plus there's a tone on YouTube and Spotify you can find with a simple search.